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Published: July 17th 2008
G'day!
As you might have guessed from the greeting there, were in Australia. We arrived in Cairns on the 10th June and checked in at Gilligans; a pretty big hostel with its own swimming pool and nightclub. Its a pretty top place to stay, asides from the fact the staff are the most frustratingly sarcastic people in the world, even when they're in the wrong. We had no problems with them ourselves but just to overhear the way they spoke to other people rattled us a bit. We had a lad from Cork in our room called Tim who was a nice fella and came out with us a couple of nights for a few beers and to spectate on some pole dancing competitions, which believe it or not were Amy's idea. The city itself seemed a bit sleepy and dated and the lagoon was being refurbished but Cairns was the place from which we would visit one of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef. We took a two hour trip out to the reef on Friday the 13th and to our surprise we were struggling a bit with sea sickness, as were most people on
our boat as it was quite a rough journey. Once we got in the water we were fine and enjoyed three great dives. The reef was as amazing as everyone says it is. We saw loads of different fish and even saw a turtle in the distance but didnt disturb him as he was on his way to the surface for some air. My favourite underwater character was probably the fish known as Sweetlips. They're pretty big and look ridiculous with their big chubby lips. Our guide was telling us how the same fish tend to reside in the same places and pop out to say hello. Its funny to think of them as having houses like we do.
From Cairns we caught a 12 hour train to Proserpine where we got picked up and taken to Airlie Beach. The train has turned out to be a really good way of seeing the coast. With Australia being so massive its been nice to have comfortable, reclining seats and a whole train to walk about on with its own restaurant and club car showing films; plus, they're actually cheaper than the coaches. Airlie was a really nice little town and
had a beautiful lagoon which is necessary because of the resident box jellyfish (most poisonous animals in the world) in the sea up there. The reason for our stay in Airlie was to access the Whitsunday Islands as we had booked a 2 day/2 night trip aboard Habibi, a maxi sailing yacht. We met some great people on the boat and were in fact the only two English people on board and I'm pleased to report we had no sea sickness troubles. Thats not to say there was no vomiting at all as I foolishly became heavily involved in drinking games on the first night and had one of the worst hangovers the next day, made worse by my being on a boat. We were drinking cheap wine known as 'goon', a backpacker favourite because of its cheapness. Unfortunately, its disgusting. Nevertheless, I had a great time sailing around the Whitsundays and got to do some snorkelling on the last day and the drinking games were a lot of fun despite being my downfall. We got to see the world's third best beach (Whitehaven Beach). I also threw up on the world's third best beach. Not many people can say
First Mate
Jack of all tradesthat!
From Airlie we had an overnight train journey down to Hervey Bay, from where we would depart on our 3 day/2 night self drive 4x4 safari on Fraser Island. It was a great few days and the island was full of natural wonders. At first we were a little surprised to find that not only was I the only guy in our sub group of 8 but that there were only two people who could drive. Luckily the girls were a great laugh and luckier still, Amy was a natural at off road driving and did us all proud as the main driver. The island is the world's largest sand island and one of the only places in the world (if not the only) where rainforest grows on sand and it really is a special place. The main highway on the island is the beach and this took us to Lake Wabby on our first day, which has huge sand dunes all around it which you can run down into a refreshingly cold lake. This was followed by a few more things on our itinerary like the multi-coloured sand dunes on the beach, Eli Creek and the Maheno
shipwreck which was quite a sight. On a blank horizon of white sand and ocean you come across this huge ship that washed up years ago and has since rusted, making it look like a Pirates of the Carribean film set. We had a base camp in the middle of the island at which we set up tents with the other groups, cooked our evening meals on the communal stove and got hot showers. Our second day began with a 5:30 rise to see the sunrise on the beach, followed by a walk up Indian Head for great views over the ocean that allowed us to see a big turtle, dolphins and some whale tails splashing in the surrounding ocean. After that we went to the naturally formed champagne pools, which provide yet another safe alternative to the shark-infested sea which you are advised to not swim in. There's also a host of beautiful lakes that have clear waters and silica sand that have all the picturesque qualities of the ocean, minus the sharks and the salt water and the noise of crashing waves which make them really tranquil settings too. The most notable for us were Lake Allom because
it is full of friendly little turtles and is at the end of a bumpy but extremely fun route into the middle of the island and the famous Lake McKenzie which is quite literally heaven on earth.
Our Fraser adventure was followed by another night at Hervey Bay on the mainland where as a group we enjoyed an all you can eat chinese to make up for the fact our mince had leaked over most of our food supplies for the three days and we had to live on chocolate spread sandwiches during the daytime. The next day we were off to Brisbane and were sad to be heading in the opposite direction to our group as we had all bonded quite well and I had certainly found my out-numbering to be an educational feature of the trip. Our train journey to Brisbane was a lot shoter than our previous rail ventures, taking a mere three and a half hours. We checked in at Bunk Backpackers and had a quiet evening due to the exhaustion of the last week or so. It wasnt until the next day that we went exploring, taking in the sights of the river and
Streets Beach (a manmade beach alongside the river) and a brief stroll in the City Botanic Gardens. My conclusion was that Brisbane is a really pretty city in parts. The following day we caught a train to Beerwah to visit Australia Zoo: Home of the Crocodile Hunter. As we entered the zoo we were faced with a memorial to the great man himself, Steve Irwin. It was pretty sad to see his face everywhere and know that he'd never again set foot in the park that he'd made world famous or shout his famous phrases. Nevertheless, the zoo was a great day trip and for the first time we came across Australia's exclusive wildlife. We really liked the kangaroos and we spent a while feeding them and laughing at their funny ways. We held a cute little koala and got photos and attended a show in the Crocoseum to see that stars of the show, the crocodiles, in action. One of the zoo's crocodiles was actually called Amy; but besides the name they had very little in common. We once again fed elephants and saw tigers and became acquainted with some other native animals like the wombat and the killer
bird, the cassowary.
We kept our stay in Brisbane brief and headed out to the Gold Coast on the train after three nights to meet up with Russell (my cousin). It was great to see Russ again. The phrase "its been too long" really did ring true. We also got to meet Russ's housemate Carl and his dog, Laelee. Laelee was a huge hit with us and we took her for a couple of walks, which helped to ease Amy's pain from how much she misses little Beau. The lads were great hosts during our 4-night stay, treating us to a barbie and beers on the first night, followed by a film. We quickly realised how much we'd missed being able to crash out on a sofa. The next day Russ took us down to the beach where he works in Southport with the intention of teaching us how to surf. Russ was a great teacher, but sadly I was a poor student. I had all the determination to succeed, without any of the ability. Luckily Amy was a bit better than myself. I got a taste of what its like to stand on the board, riding a wave
(for a second or two) but would soon tumble or get smashed by the wave due to bad timing. Despite getting battered and bruised, I absolutely loved it. The crazy thing is the waves werent that big by a surfer's standards. To me they were the biggest waves I've ever seen. After an enjoyable but tiring few hours we went to get a well earned pie, something of a tradition for first time surfers. We came down to the surf club that night for dinner and a couple of pints of Coopers, a novelty beer for me being my Mom's maiden name and all.
Unfortunately Russ had to jet off to Adelaide the next day but Carl was still around and took us to Burleigh Heads which gave some cracking views over the Gold Coast. Being a gent, he then dropped us off at Surfers Paradise so we could look around and browse around the markets by the beach and that evening made the best nachos. Just the thought of them is making me hungry. Our stay in the Gold Coast was an enjoyable one. We were spoilt and had a home from home for a few nights, which
almost made it hard to leave. But leave we did and caught a Greyhound bus down to Byron Bay on the 29th of June.
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Amie
non-member comment
Oh my gosh you two did the Titanic thing!!! I AM JEALOUS!!! he he!!! Sounds like you're having the best time! Come home soon! Miss you!!! Amie and Graeme xxxxxxxxxxx